EinRisse Interview

Kulturrisse: Please introduce your organization briefly in a few sentences.

Gidon Van Emden: CEJI - A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe is a Jewish anti-discrimination organisation. We work with people and organisations of all religions, cultures and backgrounds to promote a diverse and inclusive Europe. We deliver diversity education and manage educational networks in 14 European countries, and we enhance interfaith and intercultural dialogue. We also advocate at European level on issues of education and equality.

We work closely with the Anti-Defamation League, which runs the A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® programme in Austria.

KR: Since the latest conflict in the Gaza strip jewish populations all over Europe are confronted with the raise of anti-Semitism. How is the war interfering in your inter-religious work towards a Jewish-Muslim dialogue?

Gidon Van Emden: Jewish communities in all of Europe have seen threats and attacks directed towards them, with over 500 incidents reported in January and February. No matter what the reasoning behind it, such violence cannot be accepted in a democratic and free society.

The European Platform for Jewish Muslim Co-operation, which CEJI founded two years ago, has found it challenging to deal with these issues: We have seen that those people who have been involved in dialogue for a long time, think this is exactly a moment when we need to come together and discuss our differences, to make sure we do not alienate from each other. Some others feel less of an interest in it and want to retreat into the safety of their own communities. That is a challenge we are trying to overcome by bringing our Platform together and working on positive projects. This means that we have to set aside our differences and cooperate with people whose opinions we do not share 100%, just like in the rest of our lives.

Today we see a hardening of the discussion about many issues, including about the Middle East: there is very little understanding of, and little will to understand, the viewpoint of the other side. This leads to the breaking down of relationships and sometimes, as we have recently seen, to violence. This process makes dialogue much more difficult, as some people are becoming more convinced of their own right and are unwilling to listen to and understand the other side of the argument.

KR: Historically religion, culture, nation etc. have been sources of conflicts and wars. What are your thoughts concerning identity based politics and on the other hand more universalistic approaches? Or asked in another way: Are you more concerned with difference or commonalities?

Gidon Van Emden: Differences are beautiful! The world would be a boring place if everyone was like me. Differences add a richness, a diversity, to our lives that we cherish every day. And most of the time, differences are not seen as a problem, but as a bonus.

Today, however, religious, cultural and ethnic differences are perceived as causes of conflict and disagreement. CEJI's approach is not in fighting the differences, but in bringing out the common human element beneath them: everyone's identity is built up of many layers, many parts that create a whole person. With that in mind, we can see that we have things in common and are different at the same time.

Based on this, we then work to actively create a society that uses this richness and values it. An excellent summary of this idea is the title of a book by the Chief Rabbi of the UK, Professor Jonathan Sacks: "Dignity of Difference". The book is also a great read, by the way.

KR: What is your strategy in thinking islamophobia and anti-Semitism together and how successful have you been in your attempt to work with the differing communities? What are the biggest obstacles?

Gidon Van Emden: Antisemitism and islamophobia are two very different things, though what they have in common is that they prevent Europeans, whether Jewish or Muslim, from reaching their full potential.

So far, when piloting our Vielfalt der Weltanschauungen und Religionen Anti-Diskriminierungs Training and its submodules on antisemitism and islamophobia, we have found that the participants come out with an understanding of the issues and, equally importantly, with a will to combat these forms of discrimination when they encounter them.

The biggest obstacle is getting 'ordinary' citizens, people who are neither Jewish nor Muslim, to also understand that they need these trainings. Jews don't need to learn about antisemitism, nor Muslims about islamophobia in the same way that others need to. Antisemitism is not a Jewish problem, Islamophobia is not a Muslim problem, just like homophobia is not a gay problem: Discrimination is a problem of society-at-large, not of its victims.

KR: Your organization is also involved in developing workshops with youngsters. In Austria's last national election younger voters (between 16-30) nearly 40% voted for the two extreme right parties. What are the experiences in the field of diversity education?

Gidon Van Emden: The recent rise of extreme right parties is very worrying, especially among young people. There are many reasons for people to become vulnerable to such movements and ideologies, including a feeling of social or economic exclusion. Many people also feel disconnected from their government, and the populism of the extreme right speaks to this feeling of alienation from the democratic process.

We see that the recent rise of extreme right parties is having an added negative effect: it allows some racist viewpoints into the mainstream, and hardens the public dialogue about matters such as migration and social welfare, which is never a good thing if the aim is to scapegoat certain groups rather than to find real solutions.

In the educational field we also encounter this, as do our national partner organisations. The answer is of course not to ignore the problem, but sometimes you need specific tools to deal with people who are involved in extreme-right movements and parties.

Our peer trainers of Peer-Training Sachsen in Germany, for instance, have created specific exercises and methods to deal with this issue. In Nimwegen in the Netherlands, our partner, the Intercultural Alliance, worked in a secondary school and found that many of the students had links to the extreme right. They worked together with the school's leadership and included some of these students in a pilot project that took them to Auschwitz. So far, the reports
have been very positive on that project. Many students said that they did not know much about the Shoah before the project, and they have a very different outlook on extremism since they came back.

What is important in these projects, though, is that the visit to a concentration camp is not stand-alone, but that the participants (including the teachers) are well-prepared, and that after the visit there is a follow-up process, to make sure that the students can properly process the atrocities they learnt about. And while learning about the Shoah is very important in and of itself, it is crucial to connect the horrors of the Shoah to contemporary issues as well, to teach people about the importance of democracy, human rights and the prevention of discrimination. Only by linking the past to people's actions in the present can you create change in attitudes and behaviors.

Working in this field, as in much of the cultural and educational fields, requires a long-term commitment. Attitudes do not change overnight, and it is important that all participants feel that they are supported throughout their process of change.

KR: In cooperation with ADL (Anti-Defamation League) the CEJI offers a range of trainings across other forms of discrimination like gender discrimination or homophobia. What is your motivation to also include other discriminatory aspects and do they also connect in the inter-religious work you do?

Gidon Van Emden: In Austria, the Anti-Defamation League runs its A CLASSROOM OF DIFFERENCE(tm) and anti-bullying programmes, as well as A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® trainings for law enforcement officials. CEJI uses some of these programmes in the rest of Europe, after translating and adapting them to local needs. We have also developed our own training programmes, including the Vielfalt der Weltanschauungen und Religionen Anti-Diskriminierungs Training, and Fruitcakes, a training on gender and homophobia.

As you can see from our name, CEJI - A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe is a Jewish organisation that aims to combat all forms of discrimination. Our work is therefore not limited to particular forms of racism, though we do have a particular interest in combating antisemitism.

Hillel, a rabbi from the 1st century, said: "Wenn ich nicht für mich bin, wer ist für mich? Und solange ich nur für mich bin, was bin ich? Und wenn nicht jetzt, wann denn?" That sums up our vision nicely: We are a Jewish organisation that wants to make Europe a better place for everyone in it. We aim not only to educate people about discrimination and diversity, but to engage them as activists that actively combat all forms of discrimination. And right now is the time for action!